Daud Olatunji
Health workers at the Federal Medical Center (FMC), Abeokuta, have downed tools following the brutal assault on two nurses and a doctor by a patient’s relative.
The incident occurred on Tuesday night and spread to Wednesday morning at the hospital’s accident and emergency unit, sparking outrage among staff and leading to a strike action by the hospital’s nursing association.
PLATFORM TIMES reports that such incident has been recurring at the hospital which had forged the Nigerian Medical Association dragging a family to court .
The latest reportedly involved three health workers ;a doctor and two nurses at the hospital who were reportedly assaulted by the patient relatives .
Adekunle Olufunmilola, the acting unit chairman of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), confirmed the attack, stating that the nurses were assaulted while performing their duties.
“This morning at our accident and emergency unit, two of our nurses were assaulted by a relative of one of the patients.
“This is not the first time such an incident has occurred; it has happened several times.”
Members of the association however gathered at the hospital on Wednesday to protest the assault on their members.
Adekunle said “we have gathered ourselves and resolved not to work until the hospital management addresses this issue.”
According to the union leader, the safety of healthcare workers is in jeopardy due to repeated attacks by agitated patient relatives.
“We cannot leave our families at home, come to work, and end up as patients ourselves.
“Our lives are being threatened, and until the management of FMC Abeokuta puts a security outfit in place to ensure our safety, we will not return to work,” she added.
Adekunle also criticized the existing security arrangement at the hospital, pointing out that despite the presence of security personnel, they have been ineffective in preventing these recurring attacks.
“There are security officers at the hospital, but they are not armed or equipped enough to handle such situations.
“This is not the first or even the fourth time this has happened. We demand armed security personnel to bring a permanent end to these assaults,” he said.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the health workers held a meeting with the Head of Clinical Services, Dr. Adediran, who promised that action would be taken within an hour to resolve the situation.
However, the nurses remain on strike until they see tangible steps taken by the management.
“We’ve informed our state chairperson, Comrade Adejoke Bello, and until we see what the management has put in place and get directives from our state chapter, we remain on strike,” Adekunle added.
Sharing his ordeal , one of the doctors at the unit simply identified as Dr. Michael narrated that the trouble started when one of the nurses,nurse Mustapha, was reportedly assaulted while attending to patients.
Dr. Michael, a doctor at the hospital said he intervened during the altercation, described how the situation escalated.
“I saw the relative fighting Nurse Mustapha and asked him why he was doing so.
“That’s when he tore my clothes. People came to separate us, and then he slapped the nurse. I became angry and asked why he did that,” Dr. Michael recounted.
He added that the incident reportedly began the night before when a relative, frustrated over delays in attending to a child, repeatedly assaulted the staff.
PLATFORM TIMES further gathered that despite efforts to calm him down, the situation escalated when he physically attacked the nurses and Dr. Michael.
“The security team eventually picked him up, but this is becoming too frequent. We’ve had multiple cases of health workers being beaten.
“The government must act swiftly to ensure the safety of both workers and government property,” Dr. Michael stressed.
Hospital staff have called on patient relatives to exercise patience and follow established protocols when seeking medical attention.
“If you need anything, there are proper channels to report to, like Cervicom. What if the person you hit collapses and dies? Can their life be replaced? The management must act swiftly to protect our lives so we can continue our work,” Olufunmilola advised.
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